PEORIA HEIGHTS — Despite having to return a matching grant it couldn’t afford to use, the village still intends to construct a trailhead building off the newly finished Rock Island Greenway Trail.

Officials just don’t know how to pay for it yet.

“Right now, it’s an unfunded project,” Village Administrator Matt Fick said Tuesday. “But it’s still a priority of the board.”

Years ago, the village received a grant of almost $400,000 to build the trailhead, but the money comes with requirements and stipulations that exceed the scope of the project that village officials have in mind. The matching grant was federal money passed through to the village by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

“Using the grant money actually turned out to be more expensive,” Mayor Mark Allen said. “Going alone gives us more flexibility.”

The trailhead would be built on property the village owns at East Marietta and North Columbus avenues, about two blocks from where it’s accessible to East Clayton Avenue. A small playground was built there a couple of years ago. Though not precisely adjacent to the trail, Allen said the trailhead would be a short bike ride, jog or walk from the trail, and easily located with directional signs.

“It will be nice if not elaborate, but something more than a cement block building with a couple of bathrooms and a drinking fountain,” Allen said.

The building would be a sheltered spot for trail users to rest, picnic, meet, and use the restroom and vending machines. It could house exhibits on the history of the railroad line and its transformation into a recreational trail and the village of Peoria Heights.

The trail bisects the village from the back side of the Country Club of Peoria golf course to just before Junction City when it crosses the border with the city of Peoria. That section of the trail was finished this summer and is paved.

Having the trailhead as a prominent feature on the trail might encourage trail users to explore the shops and restaurants in downtown Peoria Heights, Allen said.

“We think the trail could really be a commercial asset to the village,” he said.

There are no specific plans for a trailhead, a cost range or a consensus on how to pay for it. There is no money in the current operating budget for design or construction.

How, then, to pay for it?

“Probably a bond at some point,” Fick said. “But we’re not there yet.”

Scott Hilyard can be reached at 686-3244 or shilyard@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @scotthilyard.